Mechanical kneading apparatus.



R. MONNIER. MECHANICAL KNBADING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED JAILll, 1013..

1, 107,980, Patented Aug. 18, 1914. 4 SHEETSSHEE% 49 21 .1; pisza f0 3 I G 28 1 I 2/" 56 2 28 41 4 C II O I 35 ,i E v 25 Q I as '21 2a A A.

ZLT E IE.H lEW EI THE ADRRIS PETERS (20.. PHOTO-LITHO. WASHINGTON, By C.

R. MONNIER.

MECHANIGAL KNEADING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 11, 1913.

1,107,980, Patented Aug. 18, 1914.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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1, 1 07,980, Patented Aug. 18, 191i 4 SHBETS-SHEBT 3.

THE IIDRRIS PErERS cu. PHOTO-LITHQ, WASHINGTON, D. C.

R. MONNIER.

MECHANICAL KNEADING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 11, 1913.

1,107,980, Patented Aug. 18, 191% 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

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- ROBERT MONNIER, or PARIS, FRANCE.

MEC ANICAL KNEAnmG APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Jatent. Application filed January 11,- 1913. Serial N 0.741535.

Patented Aug. 18, 1914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT MONNIER, a citizen of the Republic of France, at Paris, in the Republic of France, have invented certain new and'useful Improvements in Mechanical Kneading Apparatus,

of which the following is a specificatlon.

This invention relates to an improved me- 7 chanical kneading trough designed to fulfil 10, ;In the accompanying drawings, to which all-the requirements of practical baking.

reference will be made in the following 'sp ecification:-Figure l is a vertical elevation, partly in section, ofqthei improved kneading trough; Fig. 2, a/ lan View; Fig.

' 3 is a detail view showing tie friction disk driving arrangement by which the kneading members are operated; Fig. ,4 a view of the hand-operated means for controlling the operation of the kneading members. Figs. 5,

6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 12 are detail views on an enlarged scale of certain parts of the mechanism for operating the kneading members; Fig. 6 being a section on the line XX and Fig. 10 a section on the line YY,of Fig. '1; Fig. 11 is a diagram showing the extreme paths of the kneading members; Fig. 13, relates to a modification; Fig. 14 is a trans verse section of the pivoted head; Fig. 15,

a section on the line wae of Fig. 14; and

Fig. 16, a detail of a modification.

The kneading apparatus comprises a revolving trough A, a fixed framework B in side which the principal operating members are arranged, and a movable framework B, forming a casing inclosing the levers which transmit the movements from the principal operating members to the kneading arms which descend into the trough A. This trough A attached to a friction disk 1 rests onthe framework B. A part 2,-provided with an operating lever 4, and having an eccentric stud 3 engaging. in a cavity of the same shape formed on the trough, is interposed between the trough-A and the frame B. 1 The arrangement of these parts is such that by causing the part 2 to turn by means of the lever 4 the displacement of the whole trough A is effected, the friction wheel 1 being thus adapted to be pressed at will. against its driving plate 5 (throwing the trough into action) or moved away from this plate (throwing it out of action). The lever 4 may be provided with any suitable loc'kingarrangement for fixin it in any position which may be given to 1t.

residing the shaft 6 but may travel along spring 12 constantly tends to pressit against a j 19 (see Figs. 2 and'4),

lar movement'in a transverse The friction plate 5, which is situated outside the frame B, is driven by a shaft 6 on which is keyed a worm wheel 7 in mesh with a worm 8 fixed on'the shaft 9 of an electric motor E mounted externally on the frame B. The motor shaft 9 may be prolonged so as to receive ulleys 10 with a view to actuating the whole accessory apparatus by means o-fthe motor E of the kneading trough. 3 On the shaft 6 atthe end opposite to that carrying the plate 5, another friction plate 11 is mounted; the latter is also-keyed on it, and a a second plate 13 which itisintended to drive. The plate 13 may also slide along its shaft 14 (Fig. 3) which nevertheless participates in its rotary movement. It is evident that according to theposition of the plate 13 relatively to the plate 11,- the speed communicated tov it is substantially variable. This speed may change progressively from zero to a maximum speed and by bringing the plate 13 beyond the center of the plate 11 it is possible to reverse the direction of movement of the trough A. The

regulation of the position of the plate 13 is obtained by means of'a forked lever 15 fulcrumed at 16 and connected by a rod 17 with a crank 18 attached to a tubular lever which it is possible to angularly displace about an axis f.

On the shaft 14 a crank 20 is keyed operating a rod 21 intended to impart to the kneading arms D an alternate ascending and descending movement, and the same crank 20 by means of a rod 22 imparts to a second'rod 23 an oscillating movementabout a fixed point 24, with the object of communicating to the arms D an alternating anguplane (Fi s. 1, 5' and 6). The combination of t e ascending, descending and angular movements which aretransmitted to the arms, and the. extent-of which may be regulated at'will, as will be hereinafter indicated, enables. practically any suitable path to be obtained for the lower ends of the arms D for a given kneading action. The rod 21 acts on a lever 25 movable about a fixed shaft 24, and for this purpose the axis 21 Of the said rod-passes into a guide slot 25' which this lever 25 carries. It is evident that according to the place at which the axis 21 is located in the slot 25 the angular movement communicated to the lever 25, and consequently to the arms D, will vary. In order to regulate the position of the pin 21, the latter is embraced by a fork 26 (Figs. 1, 7 and 8) provided with a sleeve forming a nut, and traversed by a screw 27 suitably 3 mounted on the lever 25. By rotating the screw 27, it is thus possible to displace the fork 26 and therewith the point at which the rod 21 is articulated on the guide slot 25. This result is obtained by means of a transmission gear comprising toothed wheels 28, one of which is keyed on the screw 27 and the other operated by a the rod 25 and mounted on spindles 33 and 34, the former arranged on the movable part 31 and the latter on the fixed framework of the kneading trough. It is evident that the combination of the rods 25 and 33 constitutes in fact an undeformable parallelogram which insures the correctness of the displacement of the part 31. The mechanism just described thus insures the vertical rise and descent of the arms D, the points 32 and 32 on which they are jointed describing an arc of a circle in a vertical plane. During these displacements of the arms D the rod 23 communicates an alternating. reciprocating movement to another rod 35 pivoted at 35 which controls a bell crank lever 36 the pivot 33 of which is mounted on the movable part 31. The lever 36 acts in its turn on rods 37 so asto impart an alternating vertical movement to a slide 38 to which these rods 37 are jointed. The slide 38 travels on a guide 39 carried by the part 31 and controls the oscillatory lateral movements of the arms D by the intermediary of rods 4-0 which act on levers 4:0 to which the arms D are connected in any suitable way. The same displacements of the kneading arms D may beobtained by substituting for the slide 38 and the two levers 10 and 4:0, as shown in Fig. 13 two toothed sectors pivoting about axes 32 and 32 and adapted to receive alternating angular movements from the bell crank lever 36 by the intermediary of one rod or two rods :1; in such a way that this rod or rods may follow the arcs described by the corresponding sector, while following the movements of the lever 36.

The foregoing description with reference to the figures in the accompanying drawings,

enables the working of the improved mechanical kneading trough to be easily understood; It may, however, be pointed out that in all the positions which the rod 21 may assume relatively to the guide slot 25, r

the armsD work to the bottom of the trough A, Fig. 11 shows in broken lines 4t1 and 12 the two limiting paths of the lower ends of the arms I).

The whole mechanism of the trough is inclosed and the principal driving gear is located in the fixed framework B, which may beprovided with doors to allow of inspection or repairs. The means of transmission extending from the head of the trough to the arms D is itself inclosed in a casing B, which is displaced at the same time as the rods 25, 33 and 35. Tightness at the place where the frames B and B join is insured by suitably mounting the casing B on the fixed framework B (Figs. 5 and 6). 'VVith the same object the levers 40 carrying the arms are provided with closing shutters 4:0 which are movable with them and the function of which is constantly to close the only apertures which this part of the casing 13 may have. Further, counterbalancing .weights 41 are provided. These counterweight-s acting on the lever 25 at the end of the guide slot 25' are intended to balance the casing B and all that it contains, as well as the arms D, and the object of this counterpoising is to make the whole system act like that of a balance with scales equally loaded, and consequently involve a minimum consumption of energy for operating the apparatus when empty, the resistances being then limited to the friction of the axles in their bearings. When loaded there is added to these resistances those de-' rived from the working of the dough, which may even in turn be balanced by a suitable addition of weight to the counterweights 4E1. In this case the consumption of energy necessary for working the apparatus may be considered as reduced to a minimum. It is to be noted that the effect of the counterweights is, when at rest, to cause the arms D to emerge from the trough A in order to leave this latter free. In fact when the plate 13 is brought by the operation of the tubular lever 19 to the periphery of the plate 11, which is chamfered, the apparatus is automatically thrown out of action. The weights 4-1, if they are calculated to have a certain excess weight to compensate for the resistance of the dough acted on by the arms I), will then carry with them the lever 25 and force the levers 25, 33 and 35, as .well as the arms I), to occupy their most elevated position. Of course the arrangement of the weights 1-1 is such that when the arms D are automatically raised, no obstacle lies in the way of the movement of the weights.

It must of course be understood that support,

modifications of construction or arrangement may be lntroduced 1n the mechanical kneading trough hereinbefore "described without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus the shaft'9 may be operated by any suitable motor, and this motor, may be arranged at any. othersuitable place than the one indicated in the drawings. Similarly the hand-wheel 30. operating. the flexible shaft 29 may be arranged on a boxor independent ofv the kneading trough, which may be fixed against a wall or on the ground. In such case it is preferable to mount on the same box or support an operating member adapted to take the place of the tubularlever 19. her, whether lever, hand-wheel or crankhandle may operate another flexible shaft, which by the intermediary of -a suitable transmission gear will effect the displacement of the friction plate 13.

In. the present specification and drawings it is assumed that the trough A is mounted on a pivot, but this trough may also be arranged on a frame provided withwheels.

Any suitable means may be employed for the lubrication of the various mechanisms of the kneading apparatus. It is preferable however to mount on the top of the frame B a large lubricator H, the bottom of which has a valve a5 lifted at each oscillation of the lever 25 by the intermediary'of a rod 46 (Fig. 1), so as to allow a. certain quantity of oil to escape, which is then'conveyed by pipes to various suitable places.

. The play between the 1 operating parts which when added together produce a considerable deformation and a diminution of the amplitude of the path described by the ends of the arms may be prevented by dis I pensing with the rods37, the slide 38 and rods 40 hereinbefore mentioned, and causing the bell crank lever 36 to actdirectly on the ends of the arms. iThis arrangement is shown more particularly in Figs. 14, 15 and 16. The bell crank lever 36.c arries a rounded head 17 of steel or any other very hard and practically unwearable material on which rests a similar part 48 fixed by a nut to the end 49 of one of the arms. It is evident that when theend of the bell crank lever 36 is displaced upwardly it carries with it the ends 49 of the arms which pivoting on their pivot 50 produces the movement toward each other of the kneading arms. In the downward movement of the end of the bell crank lever 36, the contact of the extremity 49 with this latter is maintained by means of a helical spring 51 or other suiti The path described in consequence of the suppression of play is regular and conforms This memtains contact between with the theoretic path which the extremity of eacharm must describe. This mounting enables an absolute rigidity of the arms to be obtained, and consequently their position relatively to the trough to be easily. regulated. It enables the end of the kneading arms to be caused to pass as close to the walls of the trough as is necessary, while absolutely preventing the arms striking the Walls of the trough. simply obtained and for this purpose it suffices to put a washer 54 of suitable thickness, between the part 49 and the head 48. It gives flexibility and elasticity in the work ing of the dough and this is the result of the action of the spring 51, the principal object of which is to maintain the arm 49 in contact with the bell crank leverand consequently to cause a separation of the arms. However, it is evident that when the dough has reached a certain consistency, this separation of the arms, which is only produced by the action of springs, will be somewhat different. The dough will not be then suddenly divided but will bedrawn out progressively providing that the strength of the springs is judiciously selected. The frictional parts 47 and 4-8, which are alone capable of becoming worn in time, may be easily replaced.

Fig. 16 illustrates amodificationin which the action produced by the spring 51 is replaced by that of the end 49 of the arm having a head 48. The spring 51 mainthe various frictional parts, but in any case the displacements allowed by its elasticity are limited by the presence of a stop 55, adapted to be regulated by a screw 56, against which the stem of the head 48 abuts.

I declare that what I claim is 1. Mechanical kneading apparatus comprising a trough, a box-form standard adjacent said-trough, a hollow arm pivotally mounted on said standard, a kneading member pivotally mounted near the outer end of said arm and working in the said trough,

and means inclosed within the standard for imparting motion to said arm member.

2. Mechanical-kneading apparatus comprising a trough, a box form standard adj acent said trough, a hollow arm pivotally mounted on said standard, a kneading member pivotally mounted near the outer end of said arm and working in the said trough, means inclosed within the said standard for swinging the arm vertically, and means inclosed within the said arm for imparting lateral rocking motion to the kneading member.

3. Mechanical kneading apparatus comprising a trough, an arm movable vertically over said trough, a pair of kneading members pivotally mounted on said arm, means and kneading for imparting up and down motion to said 4 arm, and means for imparting lateral motion in opposite directions to said kneading 5. lvlechanical kneading apparatus com prising a kneading member, an arm, means for pivotally supporting said arm, a structure mounted at the outer end of said arm and forming a pivotal support for the kneading member, a rocking lever pivotally supported in said structure, a reciprocating member connected with said arm so as to swing it vertically about its pivotal support, a second reciprocating member, connections between said second reciprocating member and said rocking lever, and a single rotary member imparting motion to said two reciprocating members.

6. Mechanical kneading apparatus comprising a trough, an arm movable over said trough, a pair of kneading arms pivotaliy mounted on said arm, means for imparting up and down motion to said arm, a bellcrank lever for imparting lateral motion in opposite directions to said kneading arms, and means for maintaining .the kneading arms in contact with the bell-crank lever.

7. Mechanical kneading apparatus comprising a trough, an arm movable vertically over said trough, a pair of kneading arms pivotally mounted on said arm, means for imparting up and down motion to said arm,

a bell-crank lever for imparting lateralmotion in opposite directions to said kneading arms, contact studs on the bell-crank lever and on the kneading arms, and springs for maintaining the studs onthe kneading arms in contact withthose on the bell crank lever and causing the separation of said kneading arms.

8. Mechanical kneading apparatus comprising a trough, an arm movable vertically over said trough, a pair of kneading arms pivotally mounted on said arm, means for imparting up and down motion to said arm, a bell-crank lever for imparting lateral mo tion in opposite directions to said kneading arms, contact studs on the bell-crank lever and on the kneading arms, and springs in connection with the studs on the kneading arms for maintaining them in contact with those on the bell-crank lever.

9. Mechanical kneading apparatus comprising a trough, an arm movable vertically over said trough, a pair of kneading arms pivotally mounted on said arm, means for imparting up and down motion to said arm, a bell-crank lever for imparting lateral motion in opposite directions to said kneading arms, fork arms at the upper end of each kneading arm between which fork arms one end of the bel -crank lever enters, studs on the upper and lower faces of said end of the bell-crank lever, a stud fixed on one of said fork arms, a stud movable in a slot in the ther fork arm, a spring for pressing the movable stud in contact with the bell-crank lever, and means for regulating the amount or movement of said movable stud.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name this 27th day of December 1912, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ROBERT MONNIER.

Witnesses:

ANTONIO Monrninnnn, Hanson G. Coxn,

3 Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, 1). 6? 

